NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Central City, IA
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Central City, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 162 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 162
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Central City
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Central City; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 49 mph winds when its centre passed 28 miles away. Central City is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The highest rating among the 162 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 13, 1990, came within 5 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 23, 1961, killed 1 person. Of the 162, 14 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 88 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 36. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Central City has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 82% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 58 times since 1960, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 82% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Central City.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Central City
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Central City: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Central City
By decade
- 2020s29
- 2010s27
- 2000s32(1 EF3+)
- 1990s30(4 EF3+)
- 1980s18
- 1970s8(3 EF3+)
- 1960s11(1 EF3+)
- 1950s7(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 13, 1990 | F4 | 5 mi | 19 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 12, 1974 | F4 | 11 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Apr 30, 1954 | F4 | 9 mi | 80.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | in town | 87.7 mi | 1 / 12 |
| May 21, 2004 | F3 | 16 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 1995 | F3 | 19 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1993 | F3 | 15 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1992 | F3 | 19 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1971 | F3 | 7 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 18, 1971 | F3 | 18 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1953 | F3 | 14 mi | 38.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | EF2 | 5 mi | 6.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 162, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Central City
The Storm Prediction Center has 58 hail reports within 10 miles of Central City since 1960, made on 36 separate days. Of these, 38 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 18, 1998. The most recent report is from May 27, 2024. June has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Central City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Coggon, IA, 6 miles north of Central City at 903 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 26°F and 9°F. June is the wettest at 5.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 39.2 inches. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 160 nights a year. That 39.2 inches is more than at 112 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (90%). Springville, 10 miles south, has its own station (Cedar Rapids #1, IA): 38.8 inches a year, 0.4 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | 9 | 1.2 |
| Feb | 31 | 13 | 1.3 |
| Mar | 44 | 24 | 2.0 |
| Apr | 58 | 34 | 3.9 |
| May | 70 | 46 | 4.8 |
| Jun | 80 | 57 | 5.9 |
| Jul | 83 | 61 | 5.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 58 | 4.3 |
| Sep | 75 | 49 | 3.9 |
| Oct | 61 | 37 | 3.1 |
| Nov | 45 | 26 | 2.2 |
| Dec | 32 | 16 | 1.6 |
| Year | 57 | 36 | 39.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Coggon, IA (903 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Central City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 74 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Central City: 65 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 floods and 4 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $12.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 30, 2014.
July 25, 2010: flood 8 miles from the centre of Central City — $10.0 million damage.
August 27, 2009: flood 8 miles from the centre of Central City — $500,000 damage.
August 27, 2009: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Central City — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rains of 5 to 9 inches resulted in flash flooding of much of Linn County on August 27. Several streets and county roads were closed due to the flood waters.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Central City's ZIP code 52214 have filed 59 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1990, and were paid $676,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2008, with 17. 5% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 91 Iowa cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 54 have fewer than Central City.
Linn County, which includes Central City, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 21 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, on August 17, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Linn County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes, hail and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $79.1 million a year, the 3rd highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $36.2 million (46%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Central City
- Springville, IA10 mi
- Marion, IA11 mi
- Robins, IA12 mi
- Anamosa, IA13 mi
- Hiawatha, IA14 mi
- Center Point, IA14 mi
- Monticello, IA16 mi
- Cedar Rapids, IA17 mi
- Mount Vernon, IA19 mi
- Manchester, IA20 mi
- Lisbon, IA21 mi
- Ely, IA21 mi
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